The Affair
by EmpressV
Summary: Lana's found the ideal life, a good husband in Pete Ross (now the Mayor of Smallville) and a beautiful son. But could her happy life be rocked by a single night's indiscretion with Lex Luthor. (Complete with part 3)
1. Hidden Betrayel

Title: The Affair (1/3)  
Author: EV   
Rating: R   
feedback: lady_vader21@yahoo.com   
Pairings: Lana/Lex, Lana/Pete   
Summary: Lana's found the ideal life, a good husband in Pete Ross (now the Mayor of Smallville) and a beautiful son, but her happy life is rocked by an affair with Lex Luthor. 

author's notes: I wish I knew who to thank for this plot bunny, but I don't. I just remember once comic Pete's Vice Presidency and marriage to Lana Lang was mentioned in a Smallville discussion and someone responded with something to the tune of 'Ewww, if she marries Pete I hope she has an affair with Lex.' Well, I was never grossed out by the idea of PLana (in fact, I'm pretty convinced they are better off than their comic book counterparts should a marriage happen), so I wasn't all 'hey, that's a good idea' right away. Then I thought, there are two things that have been established - Pete's family has a bad relationship with the Luthors and Lana's family has a good one, therefore what kind of feelings would be brought to the surface if Lana did have an affair. And what if she got pregnant? What a bloody good conflict for a fic. I don't know how well I did, but hopefully it will entertain you.

*~~* 

Part 1 -- HIDDEN BETRAYAL 

The sun broke through the master bedroom of the Mayor's Smallville home. Mayor Pete Ross laid in bed beside his wife, Lana. He was wide awake and looking down at her. He still found it hard to believe. It was a future he couldn't have predicted, a love he hadn't been looking for, and a life he still thought shouldn't be his. 

Now when he looked at her, he wondered how even his great love for Clark could have kept him blind to her for so long. He was almost afraid of touching her when she was asleep like this, afraid all this was a dream and if he woke her up she would melt away. It was backward thinking, he knew, but he could never escape the idea that he walked right into everything Clark wanted. He was married to Lana Lang, they had an amazing son, and he had a pretty decent career. 

Lana's eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him and smiled. 

"Good morning Mayor Ross," Lana said. 

"Good morning Mrs. Mayor Ross," Pete replied with a grin. 

"Very soon to be Mrs. Governor Ross." 

"Maybe," he said as he took her hand in his and kissed it gently. 

"What are you doing up so early?" Lana asked with a yawn. 

"You were gone a week, I missed you. I just wanted to look at you awhile." 

"But, after last night, I thought you would need a rest," she said with a teasing smile. 

"You know I never get tired of you," he said giving her a tender kiss. That kiss led to another kiss and then a deeper kiss. 

"Mommy," a voice yelled interrupting them. 

Their lips broke contact and they looked at the baby monitor. The child was four, so they should have removed the thing. But he had been such a sickly baby Pete remained paranoid about leaving him unattended at night. But at this moment they wished they couldn't hear him yelling into the room. 

"Oh man," Pete said burying his head in his wife's shoulder. 

"I believe your son is up," Lana said. 

"My son? When he interrupts us, he's my son?" 

"Well, your genes are the rude genes." 

"Oh really?" Pete questioned. 

She slid out of bed. 

"Wait," Pete said pulling her back on the bed. "A little longer, once he gets you, I won't be getting you back." He trapped her in another deep kiss. 

"Ma, daddy," a little voice said now outside the door. 

"Coming Clark," Lana said. 

"He'll go back to bed," Pete said. 

"No he won't, he's stubborn, like daddy." 

They shared a final kiss and Lana freed herself from him. She opened the door and Clark came rushing in the room. He climbed on the bed beside his father and grabbed the remote from the nightstand. 

"Watch TV daddy?" 

"Sure Peanut," Pete said switching on the television. 

Lana came back to the bed and sat on the other side of her son. They looked down at their little miracle boy and smiled. They didn't mind the interruption so much when they looked at him. She leaned over the little boy and she and Pete shared a quick kiss.

Lana enjoyed moments like this, quiet times shared with her little family. Nothing reminded her how much she loved them more than being away from them and coming back home. But in one crazy moment she'd risked losing it. She'd slept with another man. And how would Pete feel about her affair, about her if he knew? In these moments the guilt of that affair weighed heavily on her heart, heavier than she could handle some days. She wondered why she wanted this something else when she had everything she claimed to want in her childhood. 

"You think it's about time we had another one?" Pete asked. 

"What?" 

"Another baby," Pete told her. 

"Clark's still a baby," Lana said. 

"I'm a big boy," little Clark piped in. 

"Yes you are," his mother said ruffling his wild curly hair. "I don't know if I'm ready to go through it again," Lana said to Pete. 

"Don't you want a little girl?" 

"I don't know." 

"Yeah, I'd probably end up in jail before she graduated High School." 

Lana looked at him confused. 

"Well, if she's half as gorgeous as you, I'll have to murder quite a few teenage boys," Pete told her.

Lana laughed. They shared another soft kiss. 

*~~* 

Lana and Pete Ross arrived in Metropolis. They were one of many invited to see the dedication of the newly re-built 'History of Metropolis' wing of the museum. Lex Luthor had donated the money so he was also in attendance and standing by the Governor's side. The Governor, Rubin Stewart, separated from Lex, came up to Pete and his wife, and patted him on the back. 

"Hey Ross," he said. 

"Hey Stewart," Pete said turning to him. "You know my wife." 

"How could I forget the lovely Miss Ross?" he said taking her hand and kissing it softly. 

"Hello Rubin. Glad to see the Museum re-built." 

"Yes, I understand that sometimes Superman has to be little... extreme to apprehend criminals. But I agree with Mr. Luthor, sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't be cheaper to just let the criminals get away. Repairing the hole in the ceiling and the wall was quite expensive." 

"But the way I understand it, if he hadn't done what he did half of the patrons would have been killed," Lana said. "Surely the cost of a wall and a ceiling is worth the human lives he saved." 

"I guess you have a point," Rubin said. He nodded to her left. 

"Good job," Pete whispered in her ear. 

She smiled at him. 

  
  
Chloe entered the museum and spotted the Ross couple from across the room. No matter how often she saw them together, she still couldn't believe Lana was the one that stopped Pete's girl hopping ways. And Lana glowed when she was with Pete. She watched them at a distance, saw their fingers intertwined as they shared a laugh over some private joke. The body chemistry said they were still in love. Their smiles communicated that they were friends as well as lovers. Somehow, the last two people anyone expected to click clicked perfectly. But a part of her didn't buy their perfect picture, I mean perfection didn't exist. It just didn't seem real there had to be some dark secret somewhere. 

"Chloe," Lana called when she spotted her. Chloe walked over to Lana and Pete. 

"Hey Lana, Pete," Chloe replied. "Where's little Clark?" 

"With his grandparents," Lana replied. 

"There's Lois and Clark," Pete said. "I'll go say hi, I don't want to shout across the room." 

Pete crossed the room. Lana watched him with a grin. 

"He misses seeing his best friend everyday." 

"How are things between the two of you?" 

"It's great... except..." 

"What?" 

"He wants to have another baby." 

"And you don't want one?" 

"I know he wants a little girl," Lana said. "I mean he loves being a father. I don't think he expected to love it so much, but I don't know. I use to want a ton of kids and he wanted one, just one. A girl, because he couldn't deal with a 'hard headed boy'. But when he actually saw his son it was a whole different story. Now that I know what's like to go through a pregnancy I don't know if I'm ready to go through all that, to put my body through it again... to worry about all the things that could go wrong again." 

Chloe started to reply, but Pete rejoined them with Clark and Lois at his side. Everyone greeted each other with the usual hellos. 

"So what were we talking about?" Pete asked. 

"Your desire for a daughter," Chloe said. 

"You're having another baby?" Lois asked. "Already?" 

"Already?" Pete questioned. "Our son's four." 

"Well I read six years is a good time period to put between births," Lana said. 

"The Ross clan turned out okay and there was way less that six years between us." 

"I tell you what Pete," Lana said with a smile. "You want the baby, you get pregnant."

"Okay, I get your point." 

"Clark we need to talk to Mayor Stewart," Lois said as she spotted him across the room. 

"See you later," Clark said. 

Clark and Lois walked off to talk to the Mayor. 

"The king is here I see," Chloe said with a grin as she pointed across the museum. 

Lana turned and saw Lex was heading toward them. Lana wondered when he would make a move toward them and now she regretted wondering at all. She didn't look at him, she couldn't look at him, because then she would remember last month in Gotham and she didn't want to remember last month. 

Did Lex remember it as vividly as she did when he looked at her? He came over and shook Pete's hand and Pete greeted him respectfully. God, if Pete knew he wouldn't be smiling at Lex right now. He wouldn't have shook his hand as he came over. And he probably wouldn't want a baby with her right now. 

Lex asked to speak to Pete privately. She figured it had something to do with business and she didn't care what the business was, she just needed to distance herself from Lex. So she and Chloe walked off together. 

"Sometimes I don't even feel like I know that guy anymore," Chloe said. 

"Lex?" 

"No, Lex is still Lex," Chloe said watching him. "It's your husband I'm talking about. He's this responsible guy, this good husband, this... father." 

"He's still Pete," Lana said with a smile. "He'll always be Pete, that's why I love him." 

"If you love him so much, why did you waste time with Whitney, Clark, Byron--" 

"Stop," Lana said quickly. "Pete, he's just different from them. Most of the other guys I dated, the good ones, they wanted to be my hero or my prince or my knight in shinning armor. And I realized when I got to know Pete that it wasn't what I needed." 

"And what did you need?" 

"A friend," Lana said with a small smile. "It wasn't about all these conjured moments of perfection, it was about things like being able to laugh when the worse happens." 

"Yes, I know, your life is perfectly wonderful?" Chloe told her. 

"I wish," Lana said. "I mean my husband and child are amazing, but I'm still so messed up." 

"What do you mean?" 

"It doesn't matter, it's over." 

"What's over?" 

"Nothing... it's nothing." 

"Lana, are you having an affair?" Chloe asked. She just pulled the question out of the air, thinking it the most logical conclusion. Lana didn't answer. "With who?" Chloe asked in response to Lana's lack of a response. 

"I'll see you later," Lana said quickly. 

She smiled feebly and walked away. 

  
  
Lana stepped outside into the fresh air and tried to close her mind to the memories that were flooding back. The wedding she attended without Pete because he had a conference to go to, an invitation for drinks, drinking just a little too much, stepping into the limo and a then a kiss, a forbidden kiss. A kiss that made her forget she was the respectable wife of Mayor Ross, the mother of a little boy. In that moment she was just a desirable woman in the arms of a very sensual man. 

"Lana," a familiar voice said behind her. She jumped a little due to the shock of the voice. 

"Hey Clark," Lana said without turning around. 

"Why are you out here?" 

"Just, needed some air," Lana said. 

"Are you okay?" 

"I'm great," Lana said with a false smile. "It's just this whole baby kick Pete is on." 

"You want me to talk to him." 

"No, I can talk to him," Lana replied. "Just have to figure out what I'm going to say. Go on back inside." 

*~~* 

A few weeks later Lana found herself standing at a drug store counter alone buying a pregnancy test. All the signs were there, the same signs she had experienced with Clark. Her breast were usually tender and she experienced nausea at random not to mention she was tired all the time for no reason at all. 

She had went to the doctor thinking she was ill when she discovered she was pregnant with her son. When she found out she was possibly pregnant instead, she immediately called Pete, who came to the doctor's office, and the two of them were together when they got the confirmed positive result for a pregnancy. But she had known something then that she didn't know now. Then she knew if she was pregnant, Pete was the father. This baby she couldn't be so sure about. She and Pete had used protection almost every time, at least she thought they did. Their son had been such a sick baby that they had decided to prevent a future pregnancy until they were ready. But the night with Lex, it had been wild and spontaneous and she hadn't protected herself from this or anything else. She thought she could just forget, she thought she could just pretend it never happened and now she might be forced to think of it for the next eight months, the next eighteen years, the rest of this child's life. 

But there were options, she thought as she walked to her in-laws with the test in her bag. Nothing said she had to carry this child to term. But what if it was Pete's child, Pete's little girl? And even if it wasn't Pete's child, it was hers. A piece of her given over to a new life. Her mother had made a mistake too, stepped away from her marriage and bore a child that wasn't her husband's. What if her mother had made the choice not to have her? 

But she didn't even know if she was pregnant, she thought stuffing the test deeper inside her pocketbook as if that would make the possibility of pregnancy less possible. She could be worrying for nothing. She could be conjuring her symptoms out of guilt. 

"Mama," her little boy said as she opened the door. 

He ran into her arms holding a piece of paper. 

"How's my little Peanut?" Lana asked. 

"I draw picture for daddy," he said shoving a piece of paper at her. 

"It's pretty," she said taking the paper from him. She actually couldn't tell what it was a picture of. "Get your jacket, we have to go." 

Little Clark ran off to get his jacket. 

"He's a good boy," Pete's mother said stepping up beside her. 

"Yeah, he is." 

"Hard believe there was a time we weren't sure if he would make it through the night." 

"Pete and I pretend we're past the scare of losing him, but we're not. He still has the baby monitor in his room." 

"Well maybe some day soon they'll be another little one for you to worry about." 

It was the last thing Lana wanted to hear so she said nothing and her son saved her from having to carry the conversation further. He ran back into the room holding his jacket and Lana helped him into it. She thanked her mother-in-law and went home with her son. 

  
  
She kept the test buried in her bag for another week. By then she felt she knew the truth, but she pretended there was still a possibility of a negative result. She knew if her options were to remain open she had to know. So she finally took the test. And actual negative result would have surprised her, the positive one she got left her in tears on the bathroom floor. 

*~~* 

Lana walked into the Metropolis Cafe and found Chloe sitting by the window reading the latest edition of the _Daily Planet_. She was glad Chloe had agreed to meet her. Despite the turmoil of their teenage years, as adults they'd established a certain trust with each other. When Clark met Lois it sort of relieved them of that conflict and allowed for the best parts of their relationship to find their way to the surface. And at the moment she was grateful for that kinship, because she didn't think she could turn to anyone else. 

"Hey," Lana said sitting down at the table. 

Chloe put down her copy of the _Planet_ and looked at her. 

"So, what's with the S.O.S?" Chloe questioned. 

"Well you certainly cut right to the chase." 

"It's a reporter thing," Chloe said. 

"You remember asking me about an affair?" 

"Yes," Chloe said. 

"I did have one... with Lex," Lana said before she lost the nerve. And from then on she spoke quickly, knowing it was the only way to get it out. "It was just one crazy night. I mean, you and I both know there's just--something about Lex and I ate it all up that night. I made a huge mistake." 

"Whoa, back up, you and Lex when?" 

"In Gotham. I went to a friends wedding, but Pete had other commitments. Little Clark was home. I was alone and free from the burdens of motherhood and being a politicians wife. And I don't know, there's something dark and seductive about that city, especially at night, and it pulled me in. And Pete wasn't there and Lex showed up at the wedding, I don't know who invited him--" 

"You didn't do...anything at the wedding?" 

"We danced a few times and talked and drank. He offered me a ride back to my hotel and in the Limo, flirting led from here to there." 

"In the limo?!" Chloe said a little louder then she meant to. 

"Shh--" Lana said. 

"I'm sorry, but the limo?" 

"It was an amazing night and I regret it only because of what it would do to Pete. And I could have left it in the back of my mind if--if there wasn't..." 

"If there wasn't what? Feelings in the way. Does Lex want more, do you want more?" 

"I'm pregnant Chloe. And Pete and I, we use protection. I know it's not 100%, so this could be his child. But it could be Lex's too, it's most likely his. I mean I haven't been to the doctor yet, but the timing's right." 

"Oh my god," Chloe said. "I know the only sure way to know is with a DNA test, but you know, because of certain ethnic genetic factors, it may be really obvious that Pete isn't the father at birth. You need to tell him." 

"I haven't decided if I even want to have this child," Lana told her. 

"You know you will. Some logical part of your brain may say 'this pregnancy shouldn't have happened anyway', but deep down inside you already see this as a human being. You couldn't go through with it." 

"How do you know?" 

"I know you." 

"Maybe you're right, but if I do make the decision to... terminate the pregnancy." Chloe could tell she fought with the word 'terminate'. "You'll come with me?" Lana asked. 

"Yeah, sure," Chloe said to her. "Whatever you need." 

"Thanks," Lana said. 

"But if you decide to keep this baby, you have to find a way to tell Pete he's not the father." 

"Why? He might be the father." 

"Because if he's not, if he goes through this whole pregnancy loving that baby and then sees on the day of it's birth that it's not his, it's going to hurt. And what's going to hurt the most is that you not only betrayed him, you lied to him." 

  
  
Another week of indecision passed after she talked to Chloe. She knew she had to make a choice, but she needed to clear her head. So while Pete was off teaching little Clark to play golf (a father-son activity he made time for once a week), she slipped into the only place that felt like going home, _the Talon_. 

Lana wondered how she had become so distanced from the place that use to be her baby. She knew she had held on to the _Talon_ to hold on to a memory of family even though the family no longer existed. And now she had a real family and she had fought for the life of a real baby. A flesh and blood child that, like the Talon, started out a in a constant fight for survival and now thrived mostly on it's own. It had been years since she took any active role in the running of the place, even though Nell and Lex had made sure she officially owned it when she turned 18. But the year she went to College she'd had to hire someone to take over running it. And when she graduated, she pursued other interest. And then she was married. And then there was her son and nothing else mattered. 

The High Schoolers still congregated here and fretted over their temporary High School woes or celebrated the latest school-related or personal victory. She found a seat and watched them, proud of her accomplishment. This place wouldn't exist for them to enjoy if not for an alliance she made with Lex Luthor as a teenager. 

"Miss Lang," a voice said. "May I sit down." 

"It's Mrs. Ross," she said to Lex. She'd heard he was in town and planed on avoiding him. 

"I thought you went by Lang-Ross," Lex said sitting down. "Lana, I know you've been avoiding me. You don't have to hide from me. I know last month was just a moment. A moment I hope we both enjoyed, but just a moment." 

"Enjoyed it or not, it shouldn't have happened," she said gathering all her bravery and daring to face him eye to eye. "I have a family to worry about Lex." 

"I know," Lex said reaching out a hand to touch hers. 

She didn't know why she didn't move her hand then. His finger started a gentle caress and the memories of their electric connection that night in Gotham came flooding back. 

"I have business to look after with your husband. I see no reason to possibly injure that." 

Lana snatched her hand away. 

"Business? You would keep quiet because of business?" 

"What would you have me keep quiet for?" he asked, leaning forward. "You, love? I thought you didn't want me to love you, that's what you said in Gotham isn't it?" 

Lana didn't answer. 

"Listen, Lana. I've always had a... let's call it a weak spot for you... I didn't make a habit out of helping teenagers start up businesses after all. So maybe a bit of that weak spot found itself let lose in Gotham. Did I tell you I love that city? It's very dark and sexy, especially at night. It makes you forget all the rules, all the reasons why you should... hold back. It's not like Smallville, Smallville is clean and wholesome, it's apple pie. You almost don't want to tarnish the image while you're here." 

"You're point is?" 

"I know what happened in Gotham doesn't belong here. I know the feelings you felt surface there would shake the very core of your Smallville life. So I'll leave those feelings in Gotham and you should too." 

Lex got up and touched her shoulder before he walked away. The warmth of him was left on her long after his hand left. The scent of him still hung in the air. And she closed her eyes feeling for a moment she was back in Gotham, at that wedding, being held in his arms for a dance. 

"What if I can't leave it there Lex? What if what happened still grows inside me," Lana said to herself. 

  
  
When Lana got home Pete was still up, sitting in the living room channel surfing as his son lay asleep in the crook of his arm. She was drawn to Lex, some part of her irresistibly so, but she didn't love this guy any less. Pete was the guy who made her laugh when it was the last thing she felt like doing, he showed her being silly could be romantic. He had a type of charm she'd never encountered before. He was her big teddy bear, that was her nickname for him when they first got together. She didn't know why that nickname had slipped away, he found it rather amusing. And even now she could curl up in his arms and feel everything was okay with the world. 

She walked into the room to join him and noticed he didn't look to happy. 

"Where have you been?" he asked. 

"Out," Lana replied. "I needed some time." 

"Did you forget about the anniversary dinner?" 

"Your parents," she said to herself. "I'm sorry Pete. I'll apologize." 

"No need, I told them you were sick." 

Pete got up and lifted his sleeping son. He carried him up to his room and Lana followed. The two of them got the sleepy child into his pajamas. He woke up enough to ask for a good-night kiss in the process and they gave it to him before disappearing into their room. 

"What's going on?" Pete asked. 

"Nothing, I'm fine." 

"You are not fine," Pete told her. "You've been moody and distant the last couple weeks and I don't know what it's about. I thought the one thing we could do when one of us was down, was talk." 

"We can, but not about this, not yet." 

"Why?" 

"Because... Because," Lana sighed. "I just can't decide what I want to do." 

"What you want to do about what?" 

"Pete, I'm pregnant," she said sadly. She meant to continue, at least she told herself that. But Pete was flushed with a look of such joy that no other words came. He took her in his arms and hugged her. 

"Is this what you were worried about? I mean, I know you weren't sure, but the baby's here now," Pete said touching her stomach. "I know we said we would plan the next one, but Clark was unplanned and look at him." 

"I guess your right," Lana said forcing a smile to her face. "But you know I've only taken one home pregnancy test, I haven't been to a doctor or anything." 

"Well we'll make an appointment tomorrow or as soon as possible. This is... wow. How lucky ... I mean we start talking about a baby and you get pregnant." 

They had been so careful about protection Lana thought he would immediately ask how. But no such question ever passed his lips because the possibility of an affair never crossed his mind. And she both hated and loved his trust in her fidelity at the same time. She didn't have the heart to tell him this baby might not be his, she didn't have the strength to tell him that she had betrayed the marriage. 

-CONTINUED IN PART 2- 

  
(Sept. 9, 2003) 


	2. Denial

Title: The Affair (2/3)  
Author: EV   
Rating: R   
feedback: lady_vader21@yahoo.com   
Pairings: Lana/Lex, Lana/Pete   
Summary: When the truth is staring him in the face, how long can Pete remain blissfully unaware? 

*~~* 

Part 2 -- DENIAL

Pete announced the pregnancy as soon as he found out. He called his mother that night. He called Clark the next day. Before the end of the week, everyone at the office knew. She never found a day to say the baby might not be yours. And how could she when the first time he heard the babies heart-beat and she came alive for him? How could she the day he found out she was a she and reflected upon their good luck at having exactly what they wanted? How could she the day his parents threw a baby shower and talked for hours about their new grand-daughter? 

And how could she break his heart now that he stood there holding the little pink baby girl in his arms looking at her as if she were the most precious treasure in the world. He didn't question the source of her features or why she didn't look like little Clark in at least. All he knew was Chloe Joanne Ross was his little princess. Lana, on the other hand, couldn't avoid over-analyzing every feature of her new daughter's face. Only when Chloe came to visit her name sake and Pete was away from the room did she see that look in someone else's eye. 

"I can't tell him," Lana said softly. 

"Okay, I hate to say this, but what about... Lex. I mean if this is his daughter, he has a right to know about her." 

"She's Pete's daughter, he loves her. No one else has to know." 

Pete entered the room then, carrying a gift. It was a long slim box and Chloe wondered what it could be. 

"For you," Pete said handing her the box. 

Lana took the gift with a small grin as Pete retrieved the baby girl from Chloe. Lana opened the box and it was a long, black, magic wand. 

"What the--" Chloe began to ask. 

Pete took the wand with his free hand.

"Well," Pete said. "Everyone sends flowers so me doing it would be a little redundant, unless I found a creative way to it." 

Pete flicked the wand a certain way and it turned into a bouquet of pink roses. Lana smiled happily and they shared a soft kiss. 

"I love you," Lana said. 

"Me too," Pete replied. 

It was then Chloe saw that spark behind there eyes, that special something between them that had developed why she wasn't looking. And she kind of understood why Lana didn't want to risk losing that, why the truth was so hard to say. 

"Well, I have places to be," Chloe said getting up. 

"Chloe," Pete said. " Since we named her after you, we were wondering if you would be little Chloe Joanne's god-mother." 

"Really?" Chloe said surprised. 

"Yeah, would you?" 

"Sure... I mean I would be honored," Chloe said. "Thank you." 

Chloe then left them alone in the hospital. 

  
  
If Lana thought it was hard to tell Pete the truth after he fell in love with an unborn child, it was even harder when that child fell in love with him. CJ (which is what they came to call Chloe Joanne) loved Pete as much as he loved he loved her. But it was clear to Lana within the first few months who CJ's father was, she didn't need a DNA test. CJ had Lex's eyes and every time the family was together and Lex happened to be around (which luckily wasn't too often) she was afraid he would look into her eyes and see that she was his. A part of her would be relieved to see it all come out, but the another part of her would be happy to see CJ grow up thinking Pete was her father. Then she looked into CJs eyes and felt guilty about it all over again. She was denying Lex the decission to be part of his child's life. Somedays this new guilt almost ripped her apart. Then she reminded herself her daughter was happy as she was. She'd see her giggling as Pete tickled her or sleeping in his arms and she didn't want to destroy that bond between them, so she let it be. And days faded into weeks and then months and the words she needed to say never found a time to be said. 

*~~* 

A warm summer day found her walking the familiar path into City Hall with her children. Her excited son clutched a handmade card in his hand and his other hand held on to the stroller. Her daughter lay curled up in her stroller sleeping peacefully. 

"Daddy works upstairs?" Little Clark said holding on to CJ's stroller as they entered the elevator together. 

"Yeah, daddy's upstairs Peanut," Lana told him. 

"And we're going to surprise him?" her son asked. 

"Yes, we're going to surprise him." 

"We should wake CJ up," he said. 

"No, let her sleep," Lana said as the elevator doors opened on Pete's floor. 

As they entered hallway outside Pete's office they spotted him standing a few feet away. He was in the hall talking to two men she didn't recognize at a distance. 

"Daddy!" little Clark exclaimed running up to him. 

Pete immediatly turned toward them along with both of the men. One man was still a unknown to her, but the other one wasn't, it was Lex. She wouldn't look directly at him, she was afraid to meet his gaze. This was that feared close encounter she thought would reveal too much. She was so glad her daughter was asleep in a stroller, hidden under a canopy, it made it less likely she would attract too much attention. 

"This is your candidates lovely family," Lex said. "Mrs. Lang-Ross, little Clark, and baby... what's your daughters name again?" 

"CJ Mr. Luthor, my sisters name is CJ," little Clark told him. 

"CJ?" Lex questioned. 

"Chloe Joanne," Lana said. "We just call her CJ and she's sleep right now." 

"We came to say happy birthday to daddy," little Clark said showing off his homemade card. He handed it to his father. "It was 'pose to be a surprise." 

"I didn't know you were busy," Lana said to Pete. 

"I'm never to busy for my boy," he said picking his son up. 

"I traced CJ's hand cause she can't write like me," he said pointing to a little hand print on the card. "I'm a big boy so I can write, but mommy helped me." 

"I think this is the best card I've ever gotten Peanut. I'm going to go put it on my desk," he said. Clark smiled proudly. 

"I'll go now, I mean..." Lana stopped and turn to her son. "Come on boy." 

Little Clark walked away from his father and went back over to his mother. 

"No need to leave. I mean we're pretty much done for today," Pete said. "I wanted you meet this guy anyway. His name is Harry Cabbot. He's going to be running my campaign for Governor." 

"Hello Mr. Cabbot." 

"Hello and I'm happy to be involved in your husband's campaign Mrs. Ross," he said shaking her hand. "From what Lex has told me, he'll make a great Governor, once his term is up as Mayor that is." 

"Of course," Lana said. 

"So we'll arrange a time to talk further?" Cabbot asked. 

"Certainly," Pete replied. 

Mr. Cabbot left with Lex. 

"You're working with Lex on this?" Lana questioned. 

"He's one person supporting my campaign, yes." 

"Pete, I don't want you indebted to him." 

"He's a powerful figure Lana, even I have to admit that. I'd rather have him backing me than the other guy," Pete told her. "And aren't you the one who always says lighten up on Lex?" 

"I just... don't trust him with you okay." 

"I'm not a child Lana. And I'm not going to let some family grudge get in the way of our progress to the next step. Believe me, I can take care of myself when it comes to dealing with Luthors." 

"I don't want you to owe him anything Pete." 

"What do you -?" 

"Superman," little Clark yelled interrupting them, his voice filled with sudden excitment. Lana turned to see the familiar dark haired figure in red and blue hovering outside a nearby window. Pete casually opened the window and let him in. 

"We need to talk about Lex," Superman said to Pete. 

"I'll give you some privacy," Lana said. 

Lana entered an empty conference room down the hall with the children. They waited patiently for Pete. Chloe woke up crying for a bottle. Clark asked to feed her and she let him (though she guided his hand). Pete came in while she was burping the baby. 

"Superman still here daddy?" the little boy asked.

"No, he has people to save," Pete told him.

"What did he have to say?" Lana asked. 

"Same thing you did, just about," Pete said sliding into a seat beside her. "That I shouldn't be indebted to Lex. But this isn't personal, it's business." 

"Business with Lex." 

"Who got you started with the _Talon_? All Lex's business deals aren't dirty." 

"But you acknowledge some of them are." 

"The chances of me being backed by a man without sin are slim." 

"You use to be so anti-Luthor." 

"And Clark use to be his best friend, things change." 

"How's your dad going to feel about it?" 

"It's not like he's moving in. My father won't know Cabbot has anything to do with Lex unless you tell him." 

Lana sighed. "I don't like him getting too close to us." 

"He's not going to be close to us, Harry Cabbot is," Pete said with a smile. Something about his smile always made her smile. 

"I love you," Lana said. 

"I know," Pete replied. They both smiled at this because this exchange reminded them both of their first real date. On this date they'd seen a special 'Star Wars' showing. The date hadn't been planned, it was a blind date arranged by two casual college acquaintances. They'd laughed at the idea thier newly aquired friends thought they made a good couple and been surprised when they agreed with them at the end of the night. 

"Lets go! We gonna be late Mom," little Clark said interrupting thier shared memory. 

"Okay Peanut, okay," Lana said. 

"Late for what?" Pete asked. 

"You'll see," Lana said settling CJ back down in the stroller. Then they all left City Hall together. 

  
  
"Surprise," said the Ross family as Pete entered with Lana and the kids. He was carrying CJ and Lana was holding their son's hand. The loud screams started the little girl and she started crying. Pete took her to a quiet corner and spent awhile calming her down before the birthday celebrations started. 

It was an entertaining evening from that point on, but his father kept asking to have a word with him. Eventually his father separated him from the celebrations long enough for this serious talk. 

"I've been meaning to talk to you about something," his father said. "I know this isn't the right time, but I don't see you often enough to address it properly. And I think it's about time I brought it up." 

"Brought up what?" Pete questioned. 

"It's about your youngest, CJ." 

"What about her?" Pete asked. 

"We love her, we really do? But she doesn't look... it doesn't seem like... she belongs if you know what I mean." 

"No, I don't" 

"Your brother's fiancée just asked if she was adopted. Pete that little girl doesn't really look like you and she doesn't favor Lana much." 

"You know she's not adopted. You were there when..." 

"I know. Which makes you wonder what's going on?" 

Pete took a few minutes to try and process his father's words. "What are you trying to say?" 

"I'm trying ask... I'm trying to find out... if it's possible... that baby is not yours?" 

"Of course she is. Sometimes kids pick up traits from obscure family members, she's mine," Pete told him. "She can't be any... she's mine." 

He walked away from him, not wanting to hear any more. But for the first time he sat and looked, really looked, at his little girl. He never questioned it. Her red hair, her complexion, her features. She didn't look like any family member he could remember and there were only faint traces of Lana in her, but it wasn't possible that she could be anyone else's... was it? 

  
  
That night Pete lay staring at the ceiling wondering if anything his father said could be true. He didn't want to believe his wife was having an affair. He didn't want to believe CJ wasn't his. But somewhere deep down he knew she didn't feel like his. Maybe their was a mix-up at the hospital. No, he saw her when she was born. That was the baby who's cord he had cut in the delivery room that day, so his father had to be wrong. CJ was his baby... she had to be. 

*~~*   
  
The next few months were filled with questions he couldn't find the words to ask. But he now scrutinized every feature of his little girl hoping to find himself. His son was him, he saw it in everything he did. He wasn't a little clone of him. His a skin was a cinnamon brown unlike the deep chocolate of his father. But his face was the same shape, he had his eyes, his nose, his chin. But in his daughter he saw very little of himself. It wasn't that he hadn't connected with her, she was his little girl in all the ways that counted. She looked at him with that same admiration that his son did and he loved her with all his heart, but he didn't see himself and Lana reflected back in her eyes. Sometimes he was afraid to look to closely into her eyes. Afraid they'd reveal a truth he didn't want to know. 

Pete reflected upon all this as he sat with his friend Clark watching the children run through the yard. CJ's first birthday had arrived. The first year had gone by pretty fast in comparrison to her brother. They had been so afraid in little Clark's first year it was a relief for him to reach an age where he was a walking talking healthy toddler. With CJ he didn't know where the year had gone. 

"You're a lucky man," Clark said watching the children run around the yard. 

"Am I?" Pete questioned. 

"You know you are. You love your kids." 

"Who does she look like to you?" Pete questioned. 

"What?" 

"CJ, who does she look like?" 

"Why are you asking?" 

"My little Peanut, looks just like me. I mean there's Lana too, but I see me. With CJ, I don't see me. So who is it she looks like?" 

Clark didn't answer. 

"Do you think Lana had an affair?" Pete asked. 

"What?" Clark said shocked. "Lana wouldn't do that, I mean it's just not in her. And if she did, she certainly wouldn't let you think a baby that resulted from it was yours." 

"In your head she's still some innocent princess," Pete said with a slight bitterness in his voice. "That's why I know it's not you, you'd never let her cross that line." 

"Look, she wouldn't. I know she wouldn't. I've been... closer to her much longer than you Pete." 

"And I've been close to her. We have a family. You don't think I know her as well as you do?" 

"I wasn't saying that Pete," Clark told him. "It came out wrong." 

"Clark, I don't want to believe she would cheat on me, but I'm not going to say she couldn't have." 

Pete got up and walked off to be alone. Clark looked over at CJ sitting in Lana's lap and wondered if it could be true. Pete was right, she didn't look like Pete. And she didn't resemble Lana much. So who's face did she have? 

  
  
After gift opening was done, Lana handed CJ over to her aunt. Then she went in the kitchen to get the cake and found Chloe sitting there. 

"You hiding?" Lana asked. 

"I don't know how you deal with all these little kids. I was dizzy in five minutes." 

Lana smiled and got the cake out of the refrigerator. 

"She's a year old Lana, how long do you think you can keep this up?" 

"Keep what up?" 

"You know what." 

Lana sighed as she carefully placed the candle in the center of the cake. "Last week, CJ got a fever. She was sicker than we had ever seen her and after our little Peanut, after what we went through with him, it was so scary. Pete sat up all night, he couldn't sleep. He kept calling the doctor. We got the fever down and she was okay. But it reminded me. Lex is never going to be that guy. Pete's the one CJ wants when she's scared or she's sick. Lex may be her father, but Pete's the one she sees as dad." 

"Lex," a third female voice said. 

"Lois," Chloe said as both she and Lana's heads toward her cousin. Neither one of them knew she was in the house or near the kitchen. From her position in the doorway, it seemed she had been walking by and caught the tail end of the conversation. 

"You cheated on Pete with Lex Luthor?" Lois questioned entering the kitchen. "That baby is his?" 

"Keep your voice down," Chloe said. "This isn't exactly front page news." 

"Yet," Lois said to Chloe. "I guess Clark was wrong. You do have the ability to bury a good story." 

"She knows this is not something that needs to be published," Lana said. "And you cannot tell Pete. He loves that little girl." 

"He can know the truth and love her still," Lois said. "You're not protecting Pete from the truth, you're protecting yourself." 

"Look Lois," Lana said through gritted teeth. "This is not about me. If Lex finds out CJ is his, she won't be Pete's little girl anymore." 

"Did I say tell Lex?" Lois asked. "No, you need to tell Pete before he figures it out." 

"I know that!!" Lana yelled. 

"Whoa, calm down ladies," Chloe said. "Lois, Lana and I, we've already discussed all this. I've said all the things you just said." 

"And I was going to tell him, but I love him," Lana told Lois. "How do I tell him something I know will tear him apart? I live with the guilt of my weak moment everyday that I look into that child's eyes. But I also see the relationship my daughter and my husband have and I don't want to break thier hearts. You can't tell him." 

"I won't be the one to tell him, but you have to find a way to tell him." 

"I know that. But not today, today his little girl has her first birthday." 

Lana picked up the cake and walked onto the patio. 

"I can't believe you kept this quiet for a year," Lois said to Chloe. 

"Over a year," Chloe said. "I knew there was uncertainty about the father when she was pregnant." 

"Pete should really be told." 

"I agree, but not by you or me." 

-CONCLUDED IN PART 3- 

  
(Sept. 9, 2003) 


	3. Revealed

Title: The Affair (3/3)  
Author: EV   
Rating: PG13   
feedback: lady_vader21@yahoo.com   
Pairings: Lana/Lex, Lana/Pete   
Summary: Lana, Pete, and Lex face the truth about CJ. 

*~~* 

Part 3 -- REVEALED 

  
The evening after CJ's first birthday, Lois and Clark were back in their apartment in Metropolis. They sat on the couch together, going through notes for their latest story, but Clark's head wasn't in it at the moment. Clark had read the same page several times and seeing as he could usually whip through this kind of stuff faster than she could blink, Lois could tell there was something on Clark's mind. 

"What's wrong?" Lois asked. 

"Nothing, just a conversation I had with Pete." 

"About?" 

"CJ," he replied. "He's not sure that she's... his." 

"And what do you think?" Lois asked. 

"I don't know." 

"Come on Clark, you're a reporter," Lois said. "Picture that little girl and then picture the people who are suppose to be her parents. Is there something wrong with this picture?" 

"I never thought Lana looked much like Henry Small, but... you think it's true?" Clark asked. 

Lois didn't answer, but she could tell Clark read something in her eyes. 

"You know something," Clark said. "What is it?" 

Lois didn't say anything. 

"Lois?" 

"Lex," Lois finally said, though Clark could tell she struggled with the words. "Lex Luthor." 

"What about him?" 

"If there was a third person that needed to know, he would be it." 

"Lex? Lex and Lana?" Clark replied shocked.

Lois nodded. 

"How do you --?" 

"I overheard a conversation between Lana and Chloe," Lois told him. 

"Chloe knows?" Clark questioned. "And she didn't -- I have to tell Pete," Clark said getting up. 

"It's Lana's job to tell him, not ours." 

"Well she hasn't told him. Chloe knows, you know, I know, and I'd rather let Pete know before someone else tells him. Or before Lex finds out and comes to his door trying to take his child." 

"He'll resent you for it. They shoot the messenger Clark, they always shoot the messenger." 

"You forget, I'm bulletproof." 

"Not to these kinds of bullets," Lois told him. "When it comes to this, to the people you care about, you're more vulnerable than anyone." 

"Fine, I won't talk to Pete, I'll talk to someone else." 

"Who?" 

  
  
Lana had just put CJ down for her nap when Superman landed outside her window. She invited him inside offered him refreshments, which he refused. 

"I'm not here for a casual visit." he said. "I want you to know that I know." 

"What do you know?" 

"About Lex and CJ." 

"How --?" she began to ask, but she knew the answer. "She told you." 

"We don't keep secrets, unlike another couple I know." 

"Lex can't know," Lana said. "He's a lot of things, but he's not a father. And I've seen what being a Luthor does to a child, how it affected Lex and Lucas--" 

"And that's why Pete needs to know," Superman said. "He needs to be prepared to fight for his daughter if Lex finds out." 

"But neither one of them knows and they're happy not knowing." 

"For how long? I mean has Lex ever taken a good look at CJ?" 

"No," Lana replied. 

"And what do you think will happen when he does?" Clark asked. "And Pete already suspects." 

"He does?" 

"He doesn't know what to think and too many people know, one day something's going to slip and the truth is going to reach him. It's going to hurt, whenever he hears it, but if it's not from you, if you're not the one honest with him, it's going to hurt even more." Superman touched her shoulder and she met his eyes. "Listen, People have always thought I fell in love with an illusion of you as a teenager. Someone perfect, someone who wasn't flawed, a you that didn't exist. They're wrong. I always saw your heart Lana and your heart is as genuinely good as it comes. You know Pete deserves the truth and you need to tell him. He loves you." 

And then, in a flash, he flew away leaving Lana to search her heart for the right thing to do. She didn't have to search for the right thing very long, she knew what the right thing was. Somehow hearing it from Clark, even more importantly, hearing it from Clark as Superman made it necessary to confess.

  
  
Pete came home that night to a quiet house. He was use to his son running into his knees yelling daddy and his son not being there sort of set his world off balance. He sensed something was wrong before he walked into the dinning room and found Lana sitting at a table alone. 

"Where are the kids?" 

"With your sister," Lana said. "Sit down, we need to talk." 

Pete sat down opposite her. 

"What do we need to talk about?" he asked. 

"CJ," she said softly. 

"What about her?" he asked. He looked away from her, unable to meet her eyes, knowing what was coming.

"You need to know that I love you before I--" 

"She's not mine is she?" Pete asked. 

"I don't know for sure, but I don't think so," Lana told him.

"Who?" 

She thought she would choke on the words, but she knew they had to come out. "Lex Luthor," she confessed quickly. 

The name seem to hurt him more than the knowledge of the affair, because Pete turned to her disgusted. "Luthor? Of all people, LUTHOR!" 

"It was when I was in Gotham," she said, tears now streaming down her face. "That wedding, the one you couldn't attend. Lex showed up, I think he knew the groom. I don't know what happened." 

"Do you love him?" 

"Do I love Lex? It wasn't..." 

"Are you still seeing him," he said before she could finish her sentence. He was balling his hand into a fist so tight his knuckles were turning white. 

"No. And Pete, you're the one I want raising CJ, not Lex. I don't want --." 

"Then why did you do it?" he asked, she could tell he was fighting showing how hurt he was and losing the battle.

"I don't know," she said truthfully. She had no real answers. "The fantasy of a teenage girl fulfilled maybe." 

"A fantasy, destroying us was a part of some Lex Luthor fantasy you had?" 

"I just pulled that out the air, I don't have a reasonable 'why' okay. It just happened." 

"'It just happened'? How am I suppose to take that Lana?!" Pete yelled. 

"I don't know, okay. I love you and it wasn't anything you did, it was me. I found out it is possible to get everything you ever wanted and it scared me," Lana said as calmly as possible, fighting her own tears and hoping this reason at least made some sense to him. "I spent a lot of my life replacing the family I lost when my parents died. The families I created growing up, with Nell, at the Sullivans, even with Henry Small, they all fell apart in time. But I grew up and made my own family, I should have been happy, but I in a way I was waiting for something to go wrong, something to be wrong. And when I couldn't find it, I guess I created wrong so at least this time, I could control the end. But I realized, all of a sudden, I didn't want it to end." 

"For a year, a year, you let me believe she was mine." 

"In my heart she is. No one else loves her like you do, I mean L--" 

"Don't say that name in my house." 

A doorbell stopped their conversation. Pete went to answer the door. It was his sister with the children. His five year old ran in and hugged him excitedly before darting over to his mother. 

"Dadda," CJ said reaching for her father. Somehow hearing that made the anger melt away. He loved this little girl, no matter where her genes came from. He took her from his sister and held her in his arms, comforting himself as he held her. 

Lana heard him mumble 'Yeah, I'm daddy' as he kissed her head softly and walked away with her. Lana thanked Pete's sister for watching the children and bid her good-bye. She and Pete didn't talk for the rest of the night. 

*~~* 

"Hello Clark," Pete said as he went through the paperwork on his desk. 

Pete had spent most of the day buried in paper work, happy to focus on it instead of the conversation he had the day before with his wife. Superman had just arrived in his office and he didn't know if he wanted to talk to him about his wife's confession or not. But when he asked how things were there was only one thing to say. 

"She told me the truth," Pete said to him. 

"Are you going to tell Lex?" 

"You know?" 

"I found out only shortly before you did. Lois overheard a conversation between Chloe and Lana and then Lois told me." 

"So everyone knew but me," Pete said mostly to himself, but he didn't have the energy to be upset about it. "If you must know, no, I'm not telling Lex. I have to protect CJ from him." 

"Lex isn't stupid. He could figure it out." 

"I'm quite sure Lex doesn't keep a calendar of his one night stands. Destroying my family was hardly a blip on his radar screen." 

"You can't be sure." 

"This is the way it has to be," Pete said to him. "Do you really want to send that innocent little girl into the Luthor Lion's den?" 

"No, but lies aren't--" 

"Don't preach to me about lying. You lie to people everyday. You pretend to be two completely different men." 

"Only to protect myself, to protect the people close to me." 

"That's my reason too," Pete replied. "And I'm severing all political related ties with him." 

"Don't you think that will be kind of suspicious now?" 

"Let me worry about it. I can protect my family, you go worry about the rest of the world," Pete told him. 

Clark knew Pete was hurting right now. There was a sadness in Pete's voice and a dangerous determination in his eye. He was worried about him, but there was no point in arguing with him about how he was handling this, right now he wasn't in a state of mind to hear it. He flew away and left him alone. 

  
Lana and Pete were in Metropolis that weekend. So, needing a kind ear, Lana arranged to meet Chloe while Pete was off spending some private time with the kids. The two women were to met at the usual cafe. Chloe was already there when Lana arrived. It was hard to believe after all these years and so many ups and downs, Chloe was the one she had left to lean on when everything else was uncertain. For a split second she smiled to herself suddenly realizing all her families hadn't fallen apart, they had there good times and bad times (really bad times), but the sisterly relationship between herself and Chloe had somehow survived it all. 

"Well, how are things at home?" Chloe asked as Lana sat down.

"Horrible," Lana replied. "Pete barely looks at me." 

"It'll past. It's not like he's running to divorce court." 

"Yeah, but sometimes I wonder the only thing that's preventing him is public opinion." 

"You don't believe that," Chloe told her. 

"I don't know what I believe," Lana replied. "I mean when he asked me why, I didn't really have a reason to give him." 

"Well, you couldn't exactly tell him you're still attracted to Lex." 

"I think I'd have more hope for us if it was anyone, but Lex. Pete was just so hurt by that. It would have hurt him no matter what, but the name Luthor just sparked this, I don't know, different kind of anger in him. I really don't know if he can forgive me." 

They sat in silence for a moment. 

"You know what I miss?" Lana finally said. 

"What?" 

"The dumb gifts." 

Chloe cast her a questioning look. 

"Remember the wand at the hospital," Lana said with a smile "That was one of them, but there's rarely an occasion for the dumb gifts. He just picks them up at random and usually has some reason behind them. The first one he ever gave me was a yo-yo, it was the day after our first date. I don't think it cost more than 50 cents." 

"You fell for a cheapskate?" 

"It wasn't the gift, it was the meaning behind it." 

"What's the meaning behind a yo-yo?" 

"He said he thought it was the dumbest toy ever when he was a little boy. His brother loved it, he played with his for hours. He bought different styles and designs and brands. One day Pete tried one, out of curiosity and he loved it. He said falling for me was like that, just this unexpected joy."

"Was Pete broke at the time? Cause it sounds like he came up with this story to cover up a cheep gift." 

Lana laughed before she continued. "He still gets them for me, well not lately, but he use to," Lana told her. "Just to show me how these little silly things remind him of me. Why did I hurt him Chloe?" 

"I wasn't there," she said. "But I was a Smallville girl once too and I know how... intoxicating Lex can be. I mean we all want a good guy to marry or make a family with, but another part of us always wants that sexy, dangerous fantasy. I mean at least once. And sometimes when you're locked in that ideal life, that flirtation with the dark side looks all the more appealing." 

"And it's really hard to say no," Lana said to herself. "Especially when you're just a little drunk and feeling rebellious." Lana reached across the table and took Chloe's hand. "Thanks for being so understanding. You've been great through all this." 

"Yeah, well, we're suppose to be sisters right?" Chloe replied. 

They smiled at each other. 

"I haven't walked in on some illicit affair have I?" a familiar voice asked. 

They both looked up and saw Lex. Lana's heart skipped a beat. 

"Hi Lex," they said together. 

"What are you doing here?" Chloe asked. Lana didn't think she was capable of saying much at the moment. 

"Same thing you are, a cup of coffee," he replied. 

Chloe's beeper went off. She checked it. 

"Damn," Chloe said. "Lana I should take this. Are you going to be okay?" 

"I'm fine," Lana said with a nervous grin. 

"You sure?" 

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll call you." 

"Okay," Chloe said walking out the coffee shop to use the pay phone. 

"May I?" Lex asked pointing to Chloe's empty seat. 

Lana nodded and he sat down. 

"I realize haven't checked in with you in awhile, how are you?" 

"Fine," Lana said avoiding his eyes.

"The family?" 

"Fine," Lana said. 

"Then what was all that 'Are you okay' stuff between yourself and Chloe?" 

"I was kind of upset about some things, but I talked about them with Chloe and she just-- wanted to be sure I was okay." 

"Does she know about us?" 

"There isn't really an us Lex," Lana replied, hoping she sounded convincing and afraid that she didn't. "Besides, you said we should leave it in Gotham." 

"I said it doesn't belong in Smallville, we're not in Smallville," he told her reaching out to touch her hand. She quickly snatched it from the table. 

"I here with Pete and the kids," Lana said. 

"They're here?" he asked looking around. 

"Not here, but they're in Metropolis, at the zoo," Lana told him. "It's CJ's first time at a zoo, but I was meeting Chloe so Pete took the kids." 

"Do you have pictures?" 

"Of who?" 

"The children. Last year you showed me about twenty pictures of your son, I haven't seen many of your little girl," Lex replied. "Is she as gorgeous as her mother?" 

"If she's gorgeous it's not because of me," she replied. "She actually reminds me of her father everyday," she said with a little half smile. She hadn't thought about them before, but there were all these little expressions that reminded her of Lex. She wondered if she was just making them up in her mind right now because he was he was here. 

"So..." 

"What?" 

"Pictures?" Lex questioned. 

"Oh, I don't have any. I mean, I do, but I got a new bag and I didn't transfer everything." She thought up the lie so quickly, she scared herself. She knew she should make up some excuse to leave right now, but she couldn't quite make herself do it.

"Another time then," he said. "Did I ever tell you I think Pete's a lucky man?" 

"No," Lana replied nervously. She didn't know where this was going.

"I see the way his son looks at him. Like he's a god, like he can do no harm," Lex told her. "And Pete can look at that little boy and see the best parts of himself carried on into the future. If I ever looked at my father that way, I don't remember it. My earliest memories of him were the pain he caused my mother. But maybe one day I'll get to chance to see the best parts of me in someone else. And maybe I'll be a better father than my father." 

"Do you really want that?" Lana asked.

"Yes," Lex said. "I know you've heard questionable things about me over the years. But I'm still fighting the battle I've always fought, a battle to be better man than Lionel Luthor. I haven't succeeded in as many ways as I would have liked to, but I'm still fighting." 

A part of Lana had never seen Lex as a father, so she had been satisfied in thinking it was better for all if Pete raised CJ. Now she knew that decision hadn't been right at all. Lex had as much a right to CJ as Pete did to his son. She almost told him right then and there, almost let the words slip, but she decided she couldn't tell Lex before she talked to Pete. There couldn't be another betrayal between them. Then she thought about pulling out CJ's picture and handing it over with some lame excuse about forgetting she had it, but in the end she decided against this too. She was getting dangerously close to feelings she couldn't afford to deal with and even though a part of her wanted to stay and have coffee, talk to Lex, she didn't want to risk losing herself in the moment again. 

"I need to go meet Pete and the kids," Lana said checking her watch. 

"I understand. We'll have coffee another time?" Lex asked. 

"Of course," Lana said rushing out of the cafe. 

*~~*  
  
When night fell on the Ross house it found Pete sitting in his daughter's room watching her sleep. He couldn't believe this sweet little girl was a Luthor. It was a named he hated growing up. His family had been cheated by a Luthor. His best friend, Clark, had been seduced by a Luthor's wealth. His other best friend, Chloe, had been manipulated by a Luthor. Then he discovered his wife had been to bed with a Luthor. He knew now business could never be anything but personal when dealing with a Luthor, eventually they infected everything. But he wouldn't let a Luthor have this baby girl. 

"Pete," his wife's voice said from the doorway. "You coming to bed?" 

"In a minute," he said. 

"Pete, we really need to talk about something. I know you're not going to like it, but --" 

"But what?" he said turning to face her. 

"It's Lex," Lana said. "Hiding it from him now seems stupid. He has as much a right to the whole truth as you do." 

"No he doesn't." 

"But Pete..." 

"Just let me sit here, okay. I'm really not in the mood for this conversation." 

"All right," Lana said sounding a little defeated. 

Lana walked into little Clark's room across the hall. He had kicked off his blankets as usual and she tucked him in again. 

"Hi Mama," Clark said coming half awake due to her presence. 

"Go back to sleep Peanut." 

"I want Ice Cream," he said yawning, forcing his eyes to open. 

"You know you don't get ice cream in the middle of the night." 

He yawned, but continued to force himself awake. He took a good look at his mother. "You're sad mommy." 

"A little," she replied. 

"You want me give you a hug?" Clark asked.

"That would help a lot Peanut," Lana said to the little boy. 

Little Clark sat up and gave her a hug. "I love you thousand years mommy," he said. It was something she once told him. 

"I love you a thousand more," she said planting a kiss on his forehead. "Now go back to sleep." 

She sat by his bedside and watched him yawn and drift off to sleep. When she looked at this little boy it had the same effect as looking at CJ, she saw his father in him and all the reasons she loved his father. Actually it was a much simpler feeling to look at her son and feel that way. He represented everything done right. Looking at her daughter left her much more confused about how she should feel. CJ was here because of something she called a mistake and she hated that. She loved her daughter and in moments we're she was alone watching her play, she remembered the good things about Lex. The young man who challenged her to earn it when she wanted to preserve the Talon, the guy who came to her side with kind words when she hid from her own birthday party, the man who empowered her with self defense lessons. He was a good man and she didn't mind that man being the father of her child. But that Lex seemed very personal to her own experience and in contrast with everyone else's Lex. She saw a part of Lex other's didn't, but she couldn't pretend a part of her hadn't been driven by a simpler needs. When she and Pete became parents, in a lot of ways they became different people and experienced a different kind of love, something quiet and more settled. It wasn't a bad thing, but a part of her missed the passion that was lost, that excitement of new young love, but she still loved Pete and her life with him. However, something was missing and she couldn't figure out how to fix it. 

*~~*  
  
"Can we go see Daddy?" Clark asked as his mother picked him up from School. He had just finished his first half-day of kindergarten. 

"Not today," Lana said to her son. 

"Why?" 

"Because Daddy's busy," Lana said. 

She and her son arrived home ten minutes later. As soon as she got home she was usually greeted by the babysitter and when she wasn't she was confused. She didn't have to search the house to find out why the sitter was missing, little Clark immediately saw why. 

"Daddy," little Clark yelled and ran into the dinning room where Pete was holding his daughter and sitting with Harry Cabbot. 

"You're home?!" Lana asked shocked. 

"I let the day babysitter have the day off," Pete told her. "And I arranged to meet with Mr. Cabbot to give him some news." 

"Some news I hope you'll get him to reconsider," Mr. Cabbot said. "He's decided not to run for Governor." 

"What?" Lana said shocked. 

"I'd like to shift my focus elsewhere." 

"Mr. Cabbot may I speak to my husband alone?" 

"Please," he replied and got up to leave the room. 

"Clark can you go play somewhere else?" 

Clark reluctantly left his father's side. Lana waited until she thought all other ears were gone before speaking again. 

"What are you doing?" Lana asked.

"What I have to do," Pete said looking at his little girl. "I can't be involved with Lex. I don't want to give him any reason to look any closer at this baby than he already has. And the best way to do that is to be out of it all together." 

"Then we'll tell him the truth? And the three of us can decide--" 

"No!" 

"What if I had married Lex and had your child?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"What if I had been married to Lex and had Clark while I was married to him? Would you want me to keep your son from you?" 

"That's different." 

"How? Because he's a Luthor. Well she's probably a Luthor and nothing you do is going to change that." 

"I am her father and as long as she believes it, she's safe from everything that goes with being a Luthor." 

  
  


*~~*

Lex hadn't been in his old Smallville home for six months. He kept it only for the memories. It was the only thing that had felt close to a home, close to something good and warm. Close to the man he had been trying to be, a man better than his father. It seemed like here was the only place he could reclaim that man. 

"Mr. Luthor," a voice said running up the stairs. 

The owner of the voice found him in his office. 

"Yes Mr. Cabbot," Lex said as he entered. 

"Pete Ross has decided he doesn't want to run for Governor and at first I didn't understand why," Mr. Cabbot was very excited and said all this very fast. "And then his wife came home..." 

"Lana?" Lex asked. 

"Yes. And you didn't tell me how well you knew her or at least how well you got to know her about a year and a half ago." 

"What are you talking about?" Lex asked in a bored voice. 

"Curiosity got the better of me and I did some eavesdropping. I overheard some interesting things about Pete Ross' little girl, CJ. It turns out instead of Chloe Joanne Ross, her name should be Chloe Joanne Luthor." 

"What?" Lex questioned shocked. He wondered if that was why Lana was so nervous when they ran across each other in Metropolis?

"Mr. and Mrs. Ross seem to be under the impression the little girl is a Luthor." 

"No," Lex said to himself. "Lana would have told me." 

"Seems like she wants too. Pete Ross seems to be the only thing stopping her." 

"Do you have a picture?" Lex asked, though he wasn't looking at him. His focus seemed to be on something lost in the space of his mind. 

"No." 

"I have to see this child." 

  
  


Lex Luthor arrived at the Ross house the next day. He didn't know what he expected coming here, but he knew he would know in one glance if that little girl was his. He hadn't planned on a daughter, but the thought didn't bother him. 

He rang the bell and the babysitter opened the door holding a grinning baby girl. At the moment it was like looking at someone he lost long ago. She had his mother's eyes, her face, her smile. 

"Is this Chloe Joanne?" 

"Who are you?" the babysitter said. 

"Lex Luthor, a friend of the family. Is Lana here?" 

"No sir." 

"May I come inside and wait?" 

"I don't--" 

"Lex," Lana's voice said somewhere behind him. He turned and saw her standing there holding the hand of her five year old. He was still wearing his book bag, so he must have just come from school. Lana looked from him to the little girl and then back again. 

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lex asked. 

Lana gave no reply. She walked into the house with her son close behind her and Lex followed them. Her baby daughter reached for her right away. Lana took her and asked the babysitter to take little Clark outside to play. Lex followed her into the living room where they sat down together. Lana immediately began to explain. 

"I couldn't tell you until I told Pete. And I couldn't find the right time to tell Pete at first and then once he knew, he loved her so much that he didn't want to share her. In his heart, CJ is his daughter." 

"She's my child Lana." 

"We don't know that," Lana said. "I mean despite outward appearances there is a slim chance--" 

"She has my mother's eyes." 

"She has your eyes," Lana mumbled. 

"So you do know she's mine?" 

Lana didn't say anything. 

"Can I hold her?" Lex asked. 

Lana looked unsure, but she picked her up off her own lap and handed her to Lex. He took the baby girl cautiously and smiled at her. She smiled back and settled calmly on his lap. Seeing them together for the first time almost made her cry. 

"She seems to like you," Lana said looking at them together. "She doesn't take to just anyone." 

"Hey Miss Chloe Joanne," he said to the baby girl, though she hardly paid attention - she was now focusing on the toy in her hand. "I've missed so much, haven't I?" Lex asked Lana. "I mean they change a lot in the first year, right?" 

"Yes," Lana replied, her heart breaking a little with the guilt of it all. She had no right to knowingly deny him access to a child that she was 98% sure was his. "Um, I have pictures," she said getting down CJ's baby book. "I'll take her," she said as she handed him the book. 

"That's okay," Lex said as he took the book and opened it. 

"Me," CJ said pointing as he looked at the first page. 

"Her first word was Dadda?" he asked. 

"Yeah, she loves her d--Pete." 

"Car," CJ said pointing to a picture of herself and her brother on another page. 

"That's what she calls her brother right now," Lana explained "She can't quite get out Clark, so she says Car." 

"Dadda," CJ said excitedly as he reached a picture of Pete. Lana registered a bit of hurt in Lex's eyes. 

"I'm sorry, that's daddy to her," Lana said. She could tell he wanted to tell her that he was her father. "Please, just let it go right now." 

"I will," Lex replied. "but only for now." 

He stood up, holding the little girl. He seemed reluctant to give her back to her mother. Lana was torn, part of her didn't want to see them parted and another part of her wanted to her back as quickly as possible. 

"Bye Chloe Joanne," Lex said giving her back to Lana. He kissed the baby's forehead. And as his lips separated from the baby's head, Lana saw someone else had arrived. 

"Pete?!" Lana exclaimed. 

"What is he doing here?" he asked to Lana, speaking as if Lex wasn't in the room. 

"I'm here to see Chloe Joanne," Lex replied coolly. 

"CJ doesn't need to see you," Pete said walking over to his wife. He took CJ and began looking her over as if he'd now find 666 marked on her somewhere. 

"We need to discuss this." 

"There's nothing to discuss." 

"We both know the truth, we all know the truth," Lex said. "And Chloe Joanne deserves to know the truth." 

"CJ deserves a normal life with us, her family." 

"She's young enough--" 

"To forget me!" 

"No, not to forget you, but to accept me," Lex told him. 

"And accept being a Luthor." 

"It's just a name." 

"It's more than a name and you know it -- Luthor," Pete walked out of the room with CJ. 

"Just, let him calm down Lex," Lana said to him. "I'll call you okay." 

Lex nodded. "I want you to know I'm not letting this go." 

"Please Lex, just give me a chance to fix my mess." 

"I'll give him a week to agree to a DNA test. Can I see her before then?" 

"I don't think that's a good idea." 

"Lana--" 

"Lex, I'm not saying never. It's my fault you were cut out of so much of her life so far, but there's nothing I can do about that. We're here now and Pete loves CJ so much, as much as he loves his son. It's not going to be easy for him to let go of that." 

"I'm not trying to take her away, I just want--." 

"I know that," Lana said. "Just give me some time." 

"A week," Lex repeated leaving. 

After she saw him out, she went off to find Pete. He was sitting on the floor with CJ playing. She laughed as he rang the bell on her little plastic train. She could never get it to work so she got very excited when Pete or little Clark got it to ring. 

"'gan Dadda," she said just before she looked up and saw her mother standing in the doorway. 

"Pete, we really need to talk about Lex," Lana said 

"There's nothing to talk about." 

"He's going to demand a DNA test," Lana said. 

"What?" Pete said standing up, leaving the little girl to play on her own. 

"You knew that he would," she said. "Listen families adjust to these type of situations all the time." 

"We can't let him do it," Pete said. "Didn't you hear the way he kept saying Chloe Joanne?" 

"It's her name." 

"I know it's her name, we named her!" Pete yelled. "But it was the way he said it, the way he kept saying it knowing we call her CJ." 

"We call our son Peanut, it's our nickname and we don't get upset with anyone who calls him Clark," Lana yelled back. 

"You know this is different!" 

"He has a right to his child!" 

"What makes her his child?! A couple strands of DNA?!" 

"Yes, those couple strands give him the right to a fair chance!" 

"A fair chance? Since when do Luthors know anything about fair chances?!" 

"This isn't about Luthors, this is about one man, Lex and his daughter. I know it hurts you to hear that, but that's what she is," Lana told him. "And you were the one who was going to involve him in your campaign." 

"That's right and it wasn't personal, it was business. It had nothing to do with you or my son or CJ." 

"Everything you do has something to do with us! We're not some separate little safe zone you can keep in a bubble away from the rest of the world." 

"Is that why you slept with him, because I kept you in a bubble?" 

"No!" Lana said. "It wasn't about you!" 

"Then what was it about!" 

"Mommy! Daddy!" a little voice screamed. They knew immediately it was their son. "Stop yelling, CJ's crying." 

Little Clark ran over to his sister and began to pat her up. They looked at each other wondering how they could have graduated to yelling in front of one of their children, how they could have missed the little girl crying at their feet. The babysitter appeared in the doorway. 

"I tried to keep him out," she said. 

"It's okay," Lana said. "You can go home." 

The babysitter disappeared from the doorway and Lana and Pete dropped to the floor. They both scooted close to CJ and little Clark. They put their arms around the children. 

"Peanut, mommy and daddy made a mistake," Pete said. 

"Sometimes we make mistakes," Lana said to the little boy. "We're sorry." 

"Say you're sorry to CJ too," little Clark said. 

"Sorry CJ," Pete and Lana said to the little girl. 

"I'm sorry Pete," Lana said. 

"I'm sorry Lana," Pete said. 

Lana reached for his hand and he gave it to her. They sat there for a long time just holding their children and holding each other. 

"Do you think we'll be okay?" Lana asked softly over the children's heads. 

"I don't know." 

"You know we have to get this DNA test." 

He nodded.   
  


That night Pete called and arranged for his friend Dr. Neil Parker to run the DNA test (he was actually the college friend that had set him up on a blind date with Lana). A day later Pete went to give his DNA sample on his own. Lana went in later that same day with CJ. Lex went in the next day. It was on the evening of the day Lex took his DNA test that Lana arrived at his Smallville home for there arranged meeting. Lana hadn't been in Lex's Mansion in a long time. The oddest things about the place was that it seemed so out of place in the small town. This towering castle of a place almost made you feel as if you'd left Smallville and entered some other world the second you stepped onto the property. 

"I believe you owe me a cup of coffee," Lex said as he met her in the hallway. She nodded and he led her to his den where they sat on a couch and shared a some coffee. Then she gave him some pictures of CJ, duplicates of ones she had at home. 

"I suppose soon we'll know the truth," Lex said going through the pictures. 

"Except we already know it," Lana replied. 

"That's true. You know, I've had women of accusing me of being their children's father before, this is just the first time I've actually believed it." 

Lana grinned a little, though she fought against this impulse with herself. 

"Do you think Pete's going to fight me on this," Lex asked. "I mean, I'd rather not ruin your life with some public circus and that's what it will turn into if he takes this too far." 

"I know," Lana said. "But we've kind of accepted that when the DNA test proves who the father is we'll have to adjust." 

They sat in silence for a few more moments. Then Lex put the pictures down and turned toward her. 

"Does he really make you happy Lana?" 

"What? Of course." 

"You don't seem very happy," Lex told her. 

"Of course not, my life's been in a tailspin lately. I mean, I betrayed him. He's angry with me." 

"You weren't happy then either, that night." 

"That had nothing to do with Pete," Lana said. "I mean, you have no idea what it was like when little Clark was born, he was so sick and we were both--." 

"I don't think this has anything to do with you son," Lex said moving closer. "I think it has everything to do with Pete. He's a good guy, but you don't have a real connection." 

He touched her arm ever so gently and a shiver ran up her spine. 

"Lana, you were meant for more than this. And you know it now, just as you knew it that night. A part of you wants more than can give, more than the simple life you have." He caressed her arm and those feeling that surfaced in Gotham came rushing back with a vengeance. "Maybe all this has happened for a reason." 

He leaned forward, their lips met, and she melted beneath his kiss. Chloe had used the right word, Lex was 'intoxicating'. So intoxicating she forgot the word no and lost herself in the moment. A part of her wanted nothing more than to stay lost in this moment, in all that was beautiful and right about it, as she had before. But then she caught a glimpse of the pictures she'd given Lex laying on the nearby table and for the first time seeing CJ reminded her of Pete and she pushed Lex away. 

"I can't," Lana said. 

"Lana, you shouldn't stay in a marriage out of obligation." 

"It's not obligation," Lana said. 

"Does he make you feel the way I do?" 

"No," Lana replied. "It's not what I feel with you." He leaned forward to kiss her again and she stopped him. "No, Lex I've always felt connected to you and I probably always will. You changed me in a lot of ways. I mean you were good to me, but you didn't rescue me -- you forced me to work for what I wanted, you challenged me and made me a better person. And I'll always be grateful for that, but I never felt like your equal. Pete has become my best friend, before this we could share almost anything. And he makes me laugh, no more than that, he can make me laugh when I want to cry. And it's not just him being there for me, he lets me be there for him. You think my relationship with Pete is about the simple things, but I want the simple things with Pete, I enjoy them, I like the dumb gifts that nobody understands but us. And I know if I manage to live into old age with him that we'll still enjoy the simple things together and I want that." 

"So your saying you still love him?" 

"I'm saying, despite what happened, I never stopped loving him," she said to him. "I want to do the right thing when it comes to CJ, but I love Pete. I hurt him once and I can't do it again." 

"Pete's definitely a lucky man," Lex said as he gently cupped her cheek. "We'll always have Gotham." 

"Always," Lana said looking over at the pictures of their child.   
  


Lana came in late that night carrying a small package. The house was quiet when she arrived. She found Pete asleep in their room, still dressed in the suit he had wore that day. His arms were hooked around the two sleeping children beside him. CJ was laying on his right and little Clark on his left. After laying her package at the foot of the bed, she picked up one child at a time and carried them back to their room and tucked them in. Then she went back to the room and tried to wake up Pete.

"Pete, Pete," Lana whispered. 

"Hmm," he said sleepily. 

"You need to get undressed." 

"Where you been?" Pete asked groggily as his eyes opened. 

"Out, I needed to clear my head," Lana said. "And... I had coffee with Lex." This revelations brought him fully awake. "It was just to give him some pictures of CJ." She waited for the usual reaction, but no anger came this time. 

"It's really is my fault isn't it?" Pete asked. 

"What's your fault?" Lana asked laying down on the bed beside him. 

"I mean, you were right," he said sitting up. "I did keep you in a bubble. I know you think my family is like this ideal group of people, but I've always been the low man on the totem pole. I wasn't the smartest, that was my sister. All my brothers were these super athletes. And my best friend, I mean loved Clark, but I lived in his shadow too. The first girl I ever thought I could be serious about was in love with him and then I ended up marrying an ex-girlfriend of his. I was always second or third or fourth, but I was use to it. Then I had a son and he thought I was the most amazing person alive. I was the first and most important man in his life. I've always thought of myself as the guy behind the guy, but being a father made me think I could be the guy instead of the other guy. I didn't want to share that, not with Peanut and not with CJ." 

"As long as you keep being the man that you are, you'll be first with CJ, you are first with her" 

"Until Luthor starts impressing her with all his fancy gifts." 

"She looked at you and said Dadda before she said anything else," Lana told him. "And it's not just her, you're first with me too." 

"Am I?" 

"I'm here aren't I?" 

"Because of me or our son?" 

"You Pete. It wasn't you who kept me in a bubble, it was me. I wanted to curled up into this safe life I created with you. I mean I thought, this is the end, I have it all. But I'm not dead, it's not the end. I didn't realize it when I gave it up, but I want something to work toward." 

"This is about you wanting a job." 

"This is about me wanting to want something, anything, that's just mine." 

"That's fine with me, I mean I never said--." 

"I know, I gave up my career, but at the time being a mother was my first priority, our son needed me. He still needs me of course, but not in the same way. I guess I felt a little lost and I didn't know why I felt lost until recently." 

Lana reached over the side of the bed and grabbed the package she bought in and handed it to him. 

"What's this?" 

"My first dumb gift. You're always giving them to me, I thought I owed you one." 

Pete sat up and opened it. There was a stuffed brown bear inside the box. 

"What's this for?" 

"Remember when we first started going out? I said you were my big teddy bear?" 

"Yeah, I thought that meant I was your toy." 

"A teddy bear's more than your toy, it's your first friend and it can last you your whole life. I mean sooner or later you outgrow action figures or doll babies, but a teddy bear you can always keep close to your heart somewhere. No matter how old you get he's always there for you. But only if you take care of him. I just realize I've been a little careless with mine. I want to chance to try and fix that." 

"Come here," Pete said. 

"No, you come here," Lana said putting her hand under Pete's chin. She pulled him close and gave him a small kiss. 

"I love you," he said. 

"I know," Lana replied. 

Lana moved closer and began to kiss him again. Not soft delicate kisses, an intense passionate kiss, a kiss that they hadn't shared since the truth came out about CJ. And they slipped away into a feeling they thought they'd lost. 

*~~* 

Lex entered Dr. Parker's office five minutes after the Ross couple arrived. It seemed like just yesterday they had a fight about even taking this DNA test. In their hearts all of them knew what the results were, the test was just formality. 

"Where's Chloe Joanne?" Lex asked Lana. 

"She and her brother are with the babysitter," Lana said. 

"I know you weren't planning on speeding her out of here as soon as you got the results," Pete told him. 

"No, I wasn't, but I would have liked to see her," Lex said sitting down. 

"Hello all," Dr. Parker said entering the room with a large manila envelope. "Now all of you wanted to hear the results together so here we all are to hear them." 

Dr. Parker opened the envelope and Lana waited for the results that would change their lives forever. 

"And the results clearly say, Alexander Luthor you are not the father of Chloe Joanne Ross," Dr. Parker told him. 

Somewhere around the word 'not' Lana's mouth dropped open, her eyes widened in shock. She looked at Pete trying to communicate to him there was no one else as Dr. Parker continued on... "Peter Ross you are the father." 

"Oh, my god. He's the father?" Lana said to herself. "You're her father." Lana said nearly in tears as she threw her arms around Pete. 

Lex turned and left without saying a word. Lana noticed over Pete's shoulder. 

"I need to--," Lana began. "I mean he was falling in love with the possibility." 

"Go ahead," Pete said. 

Lana got up and ran out in the hall. 

"Lex," Lana said. He stopped and she ran up to him. "I'm sorry about all this. I mean you believed and I believed, I'm sorry." 

"Don't be, I mean what kind of father would I be? Look at my example. If I'm just going to repeat Lionel Luthor's mistakes, what's the point?" 

"Thank you for allowing us to clear this up. I'm really sorry about what happened between us." 

"I'm not," Lex said. He reached up, touched her cheek, just for a moment, and then turned and left, but he left his warmth behind. A warmth that no longer trigger guilt. A warmth that was just okay to feel.   
  


Meanwhile, in the doctor's office Pete embraced his old friend Neil. 

"Thank you for doing this, I can never repay you for saving my family." 

"I owed you, right," Neil replied. 

"But couldn't you get in trouble for lying about the results of a DNA test?" 

"Only if someone finds out," Neil replied. 

"So, tell me the truth, he's the father isn't he?" 

"Yes," Neil replied. "Your daughter is a Luthor." 

"Well thanks to you she never has to know that." 

Pete shook his friends hand one more time and left the office. For the first time in a long time, he was at peace with his life again.   
  
  


Lex had returned to his Smallville home after leaving the doctor's office. He wouldn't be there long, he was due back in Metropolis before the end of the day, but he met Henry Cabbot for a drink. Henry Cabbot had come down just to hear that he had been right about the youngest Ross child and was shocked when he found out what the results were. 

"So you're back to Metropolis tomorrow?" Mr. Cabbot questioned. "Now that you're free of fatherly duties." 

"Yes, I'm back to Metropolis even though I'm not free." 

"But you said..." 

"I said the Doctor told us Pete Ross was the father. He told us that because Pete Ross told him to." 

"What?" 

"Pete Ross had already fixed things with his old school buddy. I suspicious when he suggested him, I eventually I confirmed my suspicions. I know the real results. Chloe Joanne is my child." 

"What are you going to do?" 

"For the moment, nothing or at least very little. See at first I was the villain and Lana was the one with the burden. We were the ones with the secrets, the ones who betrayed him. Lana was the one who would have be hurt in a custody battle. Now he's the one with the secret, he's the liar and he's vulnerable because of that," Lex told him. "And I suspect, that after things settle he'll be back on the campaign trail." 

"But... you're not involved with it." 

"Well, maybe not in a way he knows about," Lex told Henry Cabbot. "At any rate I can guarantee two things, one Pete Ross has dug his own grave with my daughter, it only a matter of time before he falls in it. Two, Lana will resent him for it in the end. Believe me, they'll both know I haven't forgotten them and when the time is right, all will be revealed."   
  
  


CJ's second birthday arrived before long and it was a much happier occasion than her first for Lana. She and Chloe sat watching CJ with Pete, who was helping her sort through the gifts. 

"I can't believe Lex wasn't the father," Chloe said. "We were both so sure." 

"I know, I'm starting to think I imagined the similarities between them," Lana said. 

Pete was handing a gift to CJ and suddenly stopped and gave her something else. He told little Clark to watch his sister and walked over to Lana with it in his hand. 

"How did this get here?" 

Lana looked at the gift. The label said 'FROM: LEX; TO: CHLOE JOANNE'. 

"He had it delivered Pete, it's just a gift." 

"I don't want him giving my daughter gifts." 

"Don't be silly Pete, it doesn't mean any more than, I don't know, he hasn't forgotten her. Just let her have it." 

He reluctantly went back to the party kids and let CJ open the gift. It was a small castle shaped music box. His first instinct was to throw it away, but he winded it up for Chloe. And every note of the music box cut the truth back into his heart. But then he shook it off. He had made everything right. No one would ever know CJ was a Luthor... Would they?   


-THE END- 

(feedback whore here, so anything you have to say I want to hear) 

  
(Sept. 30, 2003) 


End file.
